"Visions of Johanna" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. Several critics have acclaimed "Visions of Johanna" as one of Dylan's highest achievements in writing, praising the allusiveness and subtlety of the language. Rolling Stone included "Visions of Johanna" on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, Sir Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, listed it as the greatest song lyric ever written.
Dylan performs with The Band on their 1974 tour. Dylan's first attempt to record "Visions of Johanna" in 1965 was backed by members of this group, known in their earlier incarnation as The Hawks.
Dylan plays a song to Allen Ginsberg during the Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975. Ginsberg's poetic technique has been cited as an influence on Dylan at the time he wrote "Visions of Johanna".
Jerry Garcia recorded "Visions of Johanna" both as a solo artist and as a member of the Grateful Dead. Jerry, a non lyricist for the most part, brought out the beauty of the melody of Dylan's compositions.
Blonde on Blonde is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musicians, including members of Dylan's live backing band, the Hawks. Though sessions continued until January 1966, they yielded only one track that made it onto the final album—"One of Us Must Know ". At producer Bob Johnston's suggestion, Dylan, keyboardist Al Kooper, and guitarist Robbie Robertson moved to the CBS studios in Nashville, Tennessee. These sessions, augmented by some of Nashville's top session musicians, were more fruitful, and in February and March all the remaining songs for the album were recorded.
Blonde on Blonde